Sakya Trizin

Sakya
Trizin in Tibetan means "the throne holder of Sakya." Sakya Trizin is
the head of the Sakya tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Sakya is one of the four
different traditions of the Tibetan Buddhism. The name Sakya ("pale earth") derives from
the unique grey landscape of Ponpori
Hills in southern Tibet near Shigatse, where Sakya Monastery, the first monastery
of this tradition, and the seat of the Sakya School was built by Khon Konchog Gyalpo in 1073. The Sakya tradition developed
during the second period of translation of Buddhist scripture from Sanskrit into Tibetan in the late 11th
century. The tradition was established by the "Five Venerable Supreme
Masters" starting with the grandson of Khonchog Gyalpo, Kunga Nyingpo, who became known as
Sachen, or "Great Sakyapa". One of the prominent scholars among them
was Sakya Pandita Kunga Gyalsten.
In 1264 the feudal reign over Tibet was given to Drogön Chögyal Phagpa by the
Mongolian emperor Kublai
Khan. Sakya lamas continued to serve as viceroys of Tibet on
behalf of Yuan
emperors for nearly 75 years after
Phagpa’s death in 1280.

Ngawang
Kunga Trinley Tegchen Palbar Samphel Wanggi Gyalpo is the current Sakya Trizin.
Born in Tsedong in 1945, he is the forty-first holder of the
Sakya throne. Today, he resides in Rajpur, India along with his wife, Dagmo
Tashi Lhakyi, and two sons Ratna Vajra Rinpoche and Gyana Vajra Rinpoche.

Today he is the guardian of the supreme teaching
of Sakya, the system of Lamdré (lam 'bras) or "Path and its Fruit", deriving from
the mahasiddha Virupa, based upon the Hevajra Tantra.